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MG TD TF 1500 - Installing Fuel Bowel Overflow Pipes


My TD has Always had very short fuel bowel overflow pipes. I drove it that way from 1966 to 1969. Of course I never know it was wrong or dangerous.
Since rebuild I have added just about 100 miles. I had purchased the parts to replace them years ago but never got to it.

So I put it on the list. Searching the archives, pictures, gave me some general idea of how the pipes should be routed.
I am going to show how and what I did in my replacement.

In the Montage, upper left frame shows one of my original short pipes.

I used to have a nice tubing bender, but it seems to have grown feet and walked. I needed to come up with a quick mandrill. I cut about 6" of an old closet pole, about 1-5/8" in diameter. I filed a 1/3" groove about 1/16 deep in it yo hold the tubing.
I filed a similar grove in a scrap piece of Aluminum. This served as a clamp as shown in the second (top right) frame.

On the old tubes, the first bend coming out of the brass fitting is different between the front and rear. The front needs to be very tight to clear the radiator stay. Front measures about 1-7/8 the rear 2-1/4". See left frame second from top. That is a difficult bend to make. I compromised and made both the front and rear 2".

I would suggest bending the rear pipe first. The total length of the rear pipe is left as delivered. The front will need to be cut to match the Rear Pipe.

There is a clearance issue with the accelerator linkage. I needed to put an outward bow in the rear pipe to insure the linkage did not hit the pipe. You can see this in the right frame second from top.

Left lower frame shows rear tube as bent, before I put the bow in it.

Lower Right frame shows both tubes in the clamp on the front motor support.

In the next post I will add a drawing of the bends I used.

Jim B.


JA Benjamin


A quick drawing.

Jim B.

JA Benjamin

Jim - you can get a tubing bender for under $10.00 at Home Depot or Lowe's that takes the 4 smallest tubing. Cheers - Dave
DW DuBois

Or use Cupro tubing which can be bent easily by hand! You can use sockets of varying sizes to make the bends nice and even.
Steve Simmons

Looks Good Jim.
Bruce Cunha

some where there was a great idea for these pipes,,, add a union to the horizontal run of pipe from the rear carb , so this can be disconnected, making removal much easier in two pieces.
It might have been in Bub K's TTALK site,,

Steve
SPW Wincze

Yup, see http://www.ttalk.info/JeffersPipes.htm . It's an idea of Bob Jeffers. BuD
Bud Krueger

Here's mine, modified banjos and second pic routing of lines, which exit down and below the front of the sump.


PJ Jennings

Routing of lines.


PJ Jennings

That isn't the coupling that I was thinking about,, it was a union added to the front overflow pipe half way towards the front carb. I'll do more searching. It makes it much easier to remove the pipes
SPW Wincze

Counting 4-3-2-1 for the debate about the tubes going through the front plate or not to start. :-)

Jim: If you would like I can post your drawings on the MGTD site. Just use my email in the post header.
Christopher Couper

I resisted commenting on that here Chris. I followed the layout at shown in the Drivers Handbook sketches. The route isn't dealt with specifically but there are enough details in the various illustrations to determine the correct path and the necessary bending. Worth noting also that the two tubes were originally of different lengths with the rear tube being significantly longer. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

From Dave Braun earlier post, I have a copy of the Brooklands Books "MG TD 1949-1953" (ISBN 0 946 489 017) It is a compliation of articles taken from such magazines as "Motor" "Autocar" and "Road & Track".

On page 14 is a black and white photo reproduced from a February 22, 1950 article in "Motor". It clearly shows that the overflow pipes went OVER not THROUGH the front bearer plate. In fact, the front pipe is routed straight down from the 4:30 position, as Laurie says.

I might have to say I stand corrected?

warmly,
dave
Dave Braun
PJ Jennings

That's the article I used to route my pipes, over and in front of the plate, not through it. PJ
PJ Jennings

This picture alone should do it but ...

Christopher Couper

This thread was discussed between 18/09/2018 and 22/09/2018

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